Port Authority: 200,000 hours in unexpected overtime

A United Airlines airplane leaves tracks in the snow as it is pushed back from a gate at Newark Liberty International Airport on Feb. 3. Heavy snow contributed to 200,000 hours of unanticipated overtime pay for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the region’s major airports.
(Photo:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
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NEW YORK – Nature did a number on the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s overtime budget this winter, with workers putting in for 200,000 more hours of overtime labor in the first quarter of the year than officials had planned for.

The 50 inches of snow that the New York City region received during the winter was more than double the 22 inches authority officials had expected and cold weather “made it extremely difficult to remove,” Massiah said.

In addition to 22 snowfalls sending civilian overtime soaring, other events also contributed. For example, Super Bowl XLVIII, cost the agency 22,000 hours for increased PATH service for the game at MetLife Stadium, added hours to Port Authority bus terminal operations for the NFL Boulevard fan experience and at the George Washington Bridge, he said.

By comparison, Port Authority Police overtime was lower but still was 38,000 hours over the planned amount, Massiah said, primarily due to the Super Bowl. Massiah said overtime figures for April have several authority departments coming in under budget.

Authority Commissioner Ray Porcino called on the agency’s staff to look for cost-cutting measures by taking a page out of the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway’s book, which hires outside contractors to plow.

Executive Director Patrick Foye said while that would work at some of the authority’s operations, contractors would have to be specially trained to operate the large off-road plowing equipment used at the three major metropolitan area airports. That training usually starts in October and those employees have other duties during warm weather months.

“Take up Ray’s recommendation. Talk to the (NJ) Turnpike Authority and see how it works,” said Commissioner Kenneth Lipper of New York.